


Vision

by VisionaryGalaxy



Series: The Symphony of Our Catastrophe [9]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Boys In Love, Don't copy to another site, Erik Has Feelings, Erik-centric, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Post-X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Short & Sweet, Thinking about marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-16 02:52:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19309144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisionaryGalaxy/pseuds/VisionaryGalaxy
Summary: Erik contemplates marriage.





	Vision

**Author's Note:**

> Haven't seen Dark Phoenix yet so let's pretend it hasn't happened.

   The first time Erik had ever thought about marriage, he’d been a child no older than four or five. Her name had been Gilly and she’d been brighter than the sun, all smiles and laughter over the stupidest things. Though, to be fair, most children were at that age. She had picked a blade of grass, expertly tied a little circle and promptly handed it to him with the demand that he propose to her. He had, she’d accepted, and they’d gone on to play one of the thousands of ridiculous school yard games children were so fond of. She was probably dead now.

   The second time was nothing but a fleeting thought, the flash of a single image. He was no longer a child and understood the harsh realities that was the world he lived in and no longer believed in silly games of any sort.

   Erik had sat across from Charles late one night, waiting on the man to make his move. Charles always took an inordinately long time to make his decisions, but Erik didn’t mind, he enjoyed the opportunity to just look. Charles hadn’t been subtle that evening in his attempts to convince Erik there was more to life then just Shaw. His friend hadn’t yet known that Erik planned on killing the man and after that…well he’d never considered it.

   Sitting there, however, for a brief moment, Erik stared at where long elegant fingers were steepled beneath Charles’s chin and imagined a band of metal there. His heart jumped and Erik had crushed it immediately, disgusted with himself.

   The third time had been born out of a desperate kind of yearning.

   Magda had been salvation, or so he believed. Charles had always believed him capable of living a life beyond the angry and righteous one he’d built for himself and it was in Magda that he saw the possibility. Marrying her had been like a security blanket, a reminder of what he was capable of. Their union had been precious and when she and their baby girl was gone, Erik hadn’t had a need for such hopeful, fanciful beliefs any longer. Like so many other things, Charles had been wrong.

   Yet.

   Here he was so many years later.

   It been nearly a decade since Erik had helped start the apocalypse, heartbroken and filled with rage. A decade since he’d betrayed Charles for the final time. A decade since he’d lost his wife and child and suddenly, there was that thought again, but no longer brief and abstract.

   It was late, the students were all in bed sleeping soundly for once. The fire crackled across the room and Erik was sitting comfortably in his familiar chair from all that time ago. Charles, for his part, was behind his desk, chair pushed close, scribbling away at the never-ending paperwork that came with the administration of a school. They really needed another secretary.

  Regardless, Erik had long given up on the book in his lap, choosing instead to gaze at Charles’s bare hand, a foreign feeling rising up inside him. In his mind, Erik imagined the dull gleam of silvery metal with light engravings on the inside. He imagined being able to call Charles husband and proudly growing old by his side.

   Simple. Uncomplicated. Lovely.

   Erik was glad for once that Charles wasn’t in his mind at that moment. His lover kept it curled tightly these days so as not to worry the children under their care, no matter how many times Erik insists he wants him up there. Part of him wonders if its lingering unease from the days when Erik would wear his helmet, hopefully not.

   Then again, there was a small part of him that wanted Charles to hear it, to look up at him with those glittering blue eyes, maybe a bit startled and ask him if he really just overheard what he thought he overheard. Erik could actually imagine him doing that, along with the slight disbelieving smile.

   Erik was still working hard every day to make sure Charles knew how much he loved him, but it was an uphill battle, especially with their pasts, though he was more then willing to climb it.

   The skittering sounds of the pen paused, and Charles rubbed at his eyes, his exhaustion clear, “almost done?” Erik inquired softly.

   Charles grimaced, “little longer but you can head to bed-”

   “I’ll stay,” he interrupted.

   Charles shook his head but didn’t protest.

   Erik wasn’t stupid of course. He knew a marriage between him, and Charles could never happen. The laws about same-sex marriage and living were technically more oppressive then the ones for mutants but that was only because some people still didn’t know mutants weren’t just a fairytale.

   It took quite a bit of effort to push back the simmering anger in his gut, he was trying to be better about that too, or as Charles like to say, be more productive with it. That didn’t stop Erik from wondering if Charles would want to be married if they could.

   Maybe the lingering fears and doubts would slide just that much further away if Erik asked, even if their vows would only ever remain between the two of them. It wouldn’t be official, but Erik could imagine the light in Charles’s eyes and the certainty of the promise settling in their minds.

   A ring would be too conspicuous of course but there were other options. Just like that, Erik found his mind drifting, feeling the metal in the air around him and imagining what it would be like to weave it into a perfect sized bracelet. It would be plain, according to Charles’s style, maybe an engraving on the underside. Erik imagined a solid circle of metal that only he could unclasp and similar one adorning his own wrist, ideally with Charles’s own words engraved on it.

   Distantly, he wondered if he should be feeling guilty for these thoughts, mind drifting back to Magda. Except she had been so good, generous, understanding, she had understood his connection to Charles on a better level then most, listening with rapt attention. Erik had hoped to introduce the two of them one day, maybe. No, he couldn’t imagine her anything but approving, it wasn’t her way.

   “Are you alright?”

   Startled from his thoughts, Erik looked up to find Charles looking at him with concern, a familiar furrow between those brows. He couldn’t help himself but smile, the thought of that bracelet and where to get the material and how to ask already filling his mind.

   “I am. Ready for bed?”

   Charles nodded with an answering smile, even if it was a bit confused.

   For the first time in a long time, Erik could see a proper future again.


End file.
